Howdy y'all

April BlizzardsCan you believe this weather?! Thank goodness it is finally warming up. Felt like spring would NEVER get here!We received our packages of bees 2 weeks ago during the blizzard weather. Talk about bad weather to install bees into their new homes. Yikes! It was so cold and wet and miserable. We sadly lost 3 of the 20 new packages because of the terrible weather conditions. Now the bees will have to work a little harder to make up for the lost one.

Speaking of bees, we got some awesome boxes back from our Adopt - A- Hive program​! These kids and families did such awesome jobs! Here are a few pics, but we have have them all posted soon!

TupacPlease welcome Tupac to the homestead. Tina Turkey was lonely- and calling constantly, but no one was here to answer her calls. So we decided to search for a mate for her. We found Tupac, a Blue Slate Tom. He's beautiful. He was on a farm, with his own lady. His lady was an escape artist. She could get out of the enclosure and would take Tupac with her. But sadly his lady was hit by a car and killed. He spent several days wandering around looking lost and calling for her. We are very glad to bring these two together so they don't have to be alone any more <3Mother's DayWe have put together some Mother's day gift bags this year. There are four sizes to choose from. Everything made here at the homestead. You can find these on our website.New things are comingIf you didn't see our Facebook post announcement- we decided we will be getting a store front here at the homestead. This building will be split in half, store front and honey house. We will have all our goodies for sale, with set hours of operations. We will also have the honey house. We hope to not only be able to extract our own honey easier, but to do custom extraction for other local beekeepers and also rent the space out to other beekeepers. The building is very exciting, and very scary all at the same time. We had to get a loan for the building, and it doesn't come with the inside finished, so that is left to us as well. Luckily we have lots of friends and family who plan to help us do the work. We just have to come up with the money for the materials. We have put together a small fundraiser to help pay for materials. There are 7 packages up for auction on our Facebook page. Something for everyone! If you want to help us fund our next step there are a few ways you can help. Our auction on Facebook, purchasing any of our items on our website, sharing our Facebook page​ or website to help us expand our customer base, supporting us on Pateron, or a donation. Any of these are so very much appreciated during our leap of faith.Pork for Sale2 More Hogs back from the locker! Grilling Season is here!Red Wattle Pigs. Raised with love in the mud- not a confinement!! You won't find anything like this at Hy-Vee or Fareway. All USDA Inspected for Resell.New York Top Loin Roast $7/lb averages 3.5lbsRibeye Roast $7.50/lb average 3lbsBoston Butt (shoulder) Roast $7/lb 2-3lbsRibeye Chops (packs of 2) $8.50/lb averages 1.25lbsT-Bone Chops (packs of 2) $7.50/lb average 1.25lbsPorterhouse chops (packs of 2) $8.50/lb average 1.5lbsIowa Chops (thick cut) packs of 2 $8.50/lb average 2lbsBlade (shoulder) steak $7/lb average 2.25lbsSpare ribs, whole racks $7.50/lb averages 5lbsSmoked Bacon $9/lb approx. 1lb packagesSmoked Bacon ends $9/lb approx. 1lb packagesFresh (not cured or smoked) Bacon Sliced $9/lb approx.. 1 lb. packagesFresh bone in Ham $7.25/lb average 2lbsFresh Hock $6/lb average 2lbsSmoked & Cured Bone in ham $8.25/lb average 5lbsBoneless shoulder Roast $8/lb average 3lbsBrats $8.50/lb approx. 1lb packagesSpecialty Skinless Brats $9.50/lb approx. 1.5lb packages• Cheddar• Jalapeno Cheddar• Wisconsin Style (Beer)Ground Pork $4.50/lb approx. 1lb packagesBreakfast sausage $5/lb approx. 1lb packagesItalian Sausage $5/lb approx. 1 lb packages2 Whole Heads available 2.50/lb approx. 20lbs eachHearts, Kidneys, feet, tail, skin (scalded), lard (ground approx. 5lb/ package), and bones available $2.50/lb**Nothing is sold until it is paid for

The GardenI should have taken "before" pictures to show my great progress this spring, but I was too embarrassed.Feels like we are so far behind, but we will make it work. So far in the ground we have potatoes, onions, garlic (from last fall), carrots, radish, and peas.The basement is exploding with plants that need to be moved outside. Tomatoes everywhere.We will get the greenhouse set up today and start moving plants out. We will also be selling some starter plants. All chemical free, organic seeds, and plantable pots. So stay tuned for those to be for sale!Kids Gardening CampDon't forget about our upcoming summer camp for the kiddos!This is a unique camp here at the homestead where we teach everything gardening. There are only a couple spots left, but if this sounds like something your kids, or another family's kids would enjoy- check out our website for more details. Kids Gardening Camp 2018.​Thank you!Thank for for subscribing to our newsletter and reading it! We appreciate all of our supporters!Tyler & Sara